1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic stone-tracking system for stone treatment. In particular, the present invention relates to an automatic stone-tracking system that may locate the instant position of the stones, allowing subsequent accurate fragmentation of the stones without the risk of inadvertent injury to the tissues of the patient.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the recent twenty years, the extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) has provided a new technique for the treatment of stones by a non-invasive fashion of surgery rather than a traditional invasive fashion. Although the ESWL has been widely used by urologists, the efficiency for stone fragmentation, estimated from the stone-free rate, is approximately 60-70% under urologist's monitoring during treatment. This is due to the calculus movement caused by patient's respiration during treatment, resulting in inaccurate targeting of shock waves. Up to date, there is no lithotriptor with highly accurate stone targeting in the international market of lithtriptors.